1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of machine covers and more specifically to a mower belt housing hole cover that prevents debris and moisture from entering the belt housing and causing deterioration of the belts and other components housed therein.
Lawn and garden tractor mowers, typically utilize belts to transmit the rotational motion of the motor into the required rotational motion of the cutting blades. This is particularly true for larger lawn and garden tractor mowers that use a plurality of offset rotating blades to effect the cutting over a relatively wide area. In many of these tractor mowers, the belts are housed in a belt housing designed to protect the belts from the elements and to enclose the rotating and moving parts for safety purposes. A shaft for each of the rotating blades extends through a relatively small hole in the floor of the belt housing and is attached to a pulley associated with each of the blades and housed within the belt housing. The pulleys are interconnected by the pulley drive belt. One of the pulleys, the main pulley, extends upward through a relatively large main pulley hole in the top of the housing where it is attached to a main drive belt of the tractor mower that transmits the power from the tractor engine motor to the main pulley. This system of drive belts and pulleys transmits the engine power of the tractor mower to the individual blades creating the necessary blade motion.
One problem associated with this system is that, during operation of the mower, the cut grass, dirt, and moisture enters the main pulley hole and deposits on the belt and the pulley components. Typically, after only a few weeks of operation the dirt, moisture, and grass that has entered the housing causes sufficient deterioration to the belts that they must be replaced. Accordingly, frequent replacement of the belts is required. When the belts break, the mower is unusable and changing the belts is relatively expensive. Likewise, the debris entering the housing causes accelerated deterioration of the pulley bearings, the other pulley components, and the housing itself. Damage to these components may require expensive repairs to the mower. Thus, a cover adapted to fit over the hole in the belt housing is needed to prevent the debris and moisture from entering the belt housing and causing deterioration of the belts, pulleys, and other components housed therein.
2. Related Art
As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,848 that issued to Anthony on Oct. 31, 1995, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, the use of machine covers is known in the prior art. However, while the prior art references are useful for their intended purposes, none of the prior art references disclosed therein show a mower belt housing hole cover for a lawn and garden tractor mower that is adapted for simple, retrofit application to the tractor mower and provides for sealing of the housing to prevent debris and moisture from entering the housing during operation.